March 26, 2019

If Your Presence does not go with me…

Heidi Baker once said, “More is accomplished by spending time in God’s Presence than by doing anything else.”

Easy for a missionary to say, right? As you know, on this blog it’s all about worshipping Jesus, its all about Him. Today I felt a nudge on my heart by the Holy Spirit, while typing Heidi’s quote, to expand a bit on her life as a testimony of what God has and is doing through her worldwide. According to Wikipedia…

“Heidi Baker (born August 29, 1959) is a Christian missionary, itinerant speaker, and the CEO of Iris Global, a Christian humanitarian organization. She is the author of several books on Christian spirituality has a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from Vanguard University,[1] and a in systematic theology from King’s College Heidi and her husband, Rolland Baker, founded the ministry Iris Global which is a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to charitable service and evangelism, particularly in developing nations Global’s operations have expanded to include well-drilling, free health clinics, village feeding programs, the operation of primary and secondary schools, cottage industries and the founding more than 5000 churches in Mozambique, with a total of over 10,000 Iris-affiliated churches in more than 20 nations, not to mention that they feed 10 000 orphans a day. Candy Gunther Brown, professor of religious studies at Indiana University, has called the Bakers “among the most influential leaders in world Pentecostalism”.”

As previously mentioned, this is merely some information found on Wikipedia – there is so much more (take a look at the IRIS Global website).

I think its definitely safe to say, taking in account all she has accomplished in the Kingdom and is still accomplishing, that Heidi is revealing an important key to us by saying that “more is accomplished by spending time in God’s Presence than by doing anything else”.

God reminded me of another person in the Bible who definitely would have agreed with Heidi’s words. In Exodus 33:13-17 we read that God spoke to Moses’ face to face “as a man speaks to his friend”. Reading Moses prayer it seems clear why God spoke to Moses as if speaking to a friend…

“Now therefore, I (Moses) pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”Then he (Moses) said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us? So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.” So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

What truly “separates” us from all the other people on earth is His Presence. His Presence means all of Him. All of Him means all of Who He is! God our Healer, God our Provider, God our Peace, God our Banner, God our Righteousness, God our Shepherd….the list goes on. Moses understood the fullness of what it means when God’s PRESENCE accompanies us. And as a result, He did not want to go anywhere without it. And God honored it.

We need to WANT Him, not attempting to make decisions or do anything before first confirming whether or not it is God’s will for us right now. Inviting His Presence, spending time in His Presence. Jesus said while on earth: “…the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19b